Roz's Website

RozWorks.comVisit my website to view journal selections, paintings, and book arts projects. For the most recent information on classes and workshops please click on "Classes" in the categories list of this blog.

Second "Design Recharge" Interview: April 1, 2015In this second interview with Diane Gibbs at "Design Recharge" we focus on International Fake Journal Month. If you're wondering just what that is, I give a great description of it, and why you might want to participate. Also check out our earlier interview (below on this list) if you want more information about how I approach visual journaling.

First "Design Recharge" Interview: February 12, 2015Diane Gibbs of Design Recharge interviewed me for International Fake Journal Month (2015). We get a little side tracked and talk a lot about sketching, visual journaling, and my creative process. It's a great interview.

Where Is Roz Blogging?

Podcasts with Roz

Danny Gregory and I Discuss Visual JournalingSadly a two part podcast from May 2008 made with Danny Gregory, author of "An Illustrated Life," is not currently available. We talked about journaling, art media, and materials…If this becomes available again in the future I will let you know.

Finding Bits of TimeRicë Freeman-Zachery, author of "Creative Time and Space," talks to me about finding time to be creative. (Taped October 23, 2009.)

Jewelry Making

January 05, 2014

I didn't know how else to reach you all quickly and figured a blog post would work the best.

With Dick's help I have been clearing out my backroom shelves. It's where I keep books for projects that are over, or projects that I hoped to do but never got around to do. There are some shelves of fabric arts/quilting/embroidery/wiring/jewelry books that I'm letting go.

I've debated for a long while. I thought I might save these until my niece grew up and discovered her "crafty" side, but it's clear now that isn't going to happen and I'm not going to be "that" aunt.

I need the space.

If you are local and know me through friendship or membership in an arts group I belong to and you want any of these books on the list below let me know and I'll hold them for you to pick up on Saturday.

You'll need to send me an email, and you'll have to agree to pick them up on Saturday January 11 from noon to 5 p.m. (Otherwise I'm just still storing them and I'm not interested in that.)

All these books are in excellent, near mint condition. I'm selling them all for $10 a piece.

I would have published this list earlier, but I needed help to get them down and out and had to wait until Dick could help.

They are going away for library donation on Tuesday, January 7 so I must hear from you by Midnight on Monday, January 6.

That means you have the rest of today and all day tomorrow to think about this and look up the titles on the internet. Please don't write to me for additional details. I'm posting generally about this because I don't have time to go through lots of requests etc. They are as I have written, in excellent condition.

If you know they sell for a gazillion dollars on Amazon and you don't think I should sell them for $10 make me a slightly better offer and then pick them up and sell them for a profit for yourself. I haven't got the time to put them up on the internet and carry them to the post office etc.

If you are not local, of if you're local but a stranger to me (i.e., not a friend or member of an arts group I belong to) I'm sorry. I have to make this as simple as possible for myself. And I'm not going to mess with mailing any of these or working out postage—I just can't carry stuff to the post office).

Here are the books that I am culling from my shelves. (Check back later today for possible updates which I'll add at the bottom of the list under a heading "Updates"—in fact I might add more on Monday morning.)

(Forgive the typos, I'm working fast and have three fingers with Band-Aids on them—long story.)

Dyes and Paints: A Hands-On Guide to Coloring Paint—Elin Nobel

Work in Fabric and Thread —Diedre Scherer

Silk Painting: The artist’s guide to gutta and was resist techniques—Susan Louise Moyer

January 21, 2011

Left: Dinopendant (plastic toy) with carnelian, jasper, bone, and horn beads, with base metal chain and wire-wrapping. Click on the image to view and enlargement.

Sometimes I take breaks from sketching and make my own jewelry. I like to bead and I like to wire wrap. I avoid most techniques which involve heat (because I don't like the smells and I don't want to wear out my eyes—even with protection I'm worried about torches causing cataracts). But that still leaves my whimsy a lot of leeway.

I got the best comments from the 5- to 10-year-old group when I wore this at various times in the last two months of 2010.

April 16, 2010

Above: A bracelet I made using a wire weaving technique (Viking Knit) and a little quilt. Read about them below. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

In February of this year I sent my friend Ricë Freeman-Zachery some jewelry I'd made with orange beads and wire—it's one of her favorite colors. I told her to keep it or give it away as she wished. (She always has fun give-aways on her blog so you really should check it out.) She kept some pieces but gave one away. You can see the bracelet give-away here.

The bracelet you see on her site was very similar to the one pictured above. The one above was totally woven wire with no beaded bits. More or less a bangle of woven wire. But it was originally the same colors as the bracelet Ricë gave away. Ricë told me when she received this bracelet that she put it on and wore it from then on, even in the shower, until she sent it back to me, which was a couple of weeks ago.

I wanted you all to see it in case you work with the brand of colored wired called "Artistic Wire." I knew the finish would come off (heck you have to be careful when wire wrapping it that you don't expose the core with quick scrapes of your tools), but I didn't expect it to rub off that quickly (in only about 8 weeks).

February 10, 2010

I know some of you have asked about my jewelry and now you have a chance to go and win a piece. I had to let you know right away. (I mentioned in a comment on her blog that I think the bracelet is about 7 inches in circumference. It fits my wrist and hangs down a bit, or so I recall. A handy jewelry maker sort of person could simply add an extender chain, or shift one of the dangling beads into the row to extend it that way!) Yes I braided that purple and orange wire!

Also, there are some very cool small journals in little bags from Teesha Moore that are part of another give away post. Really, you need to go and check this out.

December 13, 2009

Left: My first attempt at a beaded-bead ornament using white wood beads in a right-angle weave ball, with additional beads added (blue glass) between strings of maroon triangle beads. I used sterling silver for the wire except for the hanger, which I made from soft craft wire so it could be adjusted in length. (Sorry for the dull lighting and yes, I have very odd ancient wallpaper left from Dick's Grandmother!) Click on the image to view an enlargement.

After helping Diane decorate her tree I came home eager to make some ornaments but didn't have "stuff" to do it with, until I realized some of the really large wood beads I had could make a really large beaded-bead that would be an ornament for the tree.

I grabbed some wood beads and some Irish Linen thread and whipped up this first sample, added extra beads to create more color and interest. Then I added the 3 blue beads at the base by putting them on eyepins with a wrapped loop at the top that attached them to the base of the ball. At the top I created a two loop link with a blue bead in the middle. A string can be attached here, or the soft wire hook I made (with decorative spirals) can be used (the hook is not wrapped closed on the ornament's top loop so it can easily be removed.)

Right: My second attempted at a beaded-bead ornament. I used 24-gauge brass wire to "sew" it all up. I also used resin beads for lightweight qualities and for transparency and reflectivity. The heavier weight hook wire was difficult to bend! Click on the image to view an enlargement.

I found working with the wire to "sew" it all together much faster and more satisfying. If I were to make more I would do them in wire. I also think the exposed wire adds a bit of sparkle to the ornament. And you don't have to knot off!

So if you get the ornament bug and don't have any braid, trimmings, satin, velour, and Styrofoam balls but you make jewelry think about making some jewelry for a tree!

Other things I have around the house that could be used for this activity:

Paper Clay, the resultant balls could be texturized, colored; you could embed things into it. You could press it into molds and make light but large tile type ornaments.

Wool roving, I could felt balls and use them plain or add beads to them.

Polymer clay, I could make balls or clay tiles as with the Paper Clay. They would be a little heavier but there would be some interesting possibilities with the color mixing techniques available with Polymer clay. Additionally I could use transfers of images to make picture ornaments.

I recently picked up some retangular shapes to hold pictures and resin for jewelry making. These could be used for ornaments.

I could dig out those glass slides and soldering supplies I used to make some pendants—I found them too heavy for my neck, but they would be great dangling from a tree branch.

I've got tons of fabric I could stitch together into soft ornaments that I could leave plain or bead.

The possibilities are endless. It's a good thing I'm a pantheist and don't decorate a tree!

If you do put up holiday decorations of any sort I hope you have a great and wild time making them. You'll be creating memories of your creative interests over the years. Kind of like a vertical, 3-D collage journal! Think metallic and shiny to reflect the light!

October 18, 2009

It's my day off, well, I have to bind some books later today and I'm just baking the last of 4 loaves of bread for friends and family (standing Sunday order of two whole wheat and two white), but you get the idea—and I watched Craft in America—Process and had to call it to your attention.

All of the program is engaging and "WOW" but there are artists that are making things I'm interested in which made this a particularly fun episode. Julie Chen, book artist, makes incredible 100-book editions that I can't even begin to describe—they pop up, shift, and well, are just perfectly constructed. (She makes and plans and prints one book a year in a 100 book edition, which is then put together over a longer time frame.) Tom Killion, printmaker, runs through his process and the camera catches the layers of his prints several times. You see his work from sketch to finished print. And he talks about his influences with examples so you can clearly see connections. Dave and Roberta Williamson make incredible found art jewelry. This is jewelry made with great craftsmanship, silversmithing, care, an artistic eye in the composition and selection of the materials.

All these artists talk about discovering their passion and going forward with it as their lives' work. The really fun thing about this program is that there are several schools talked about, so if you want to study with one of these people or go somewhere to learn these techniques you can follow up with it.

If it's your day off too think about following your passion, go get inspired.

September 11, 2009

Left: Another button closure necklace. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

If you would like to see additional necklaces in this recent series click on "Jewelry" in the category list and scroll to the August 29, 2009; September 4, 2009; and September 5, 2009 posts.

Here's another quick necklace you can make with just a few leftover components, a bit of wire, cord, and a button.

I used waxed cotton cord measured to the desired drape length with 2 inches added to allow for turnover and construction of the loops at each end.

On one end I made a loop large enough to slip over the selected button. On the other end I looped the waxed cotton through the button shank. I wrapped 22-gauge wire at the base of each loop and trimmed the excess cord and wire.

September 05, 2009

Left: Another necklace made with left over components. This necklace celebrates asymmetry. Click on the image to view an enlargement. See yesterday's post for another leftover necklace.

I like to use wire coils in my wire-wrapped necklaces, but I always end up with leftover bits. Every so often these bits reach critical mass, demand to be put away, recycled, or used. Happily I love asymmetrical necklaces more than anything. They are fun to make because they evolve as you work. You follow idea to idea, rethink, and make things work by reporposing them.

When the State Fair is going on I often find myself exhausted when I get home, and that's the perfect time to spend the evening with some leftover necklace components to create a quick necklace.

This necklace uses copper half-hard jewelry wire. I hand wrapped the hook and eye clasp parts. The focal point at the front bottom of the necklace is a bit of coiled wire (24-gauge) that I strung on 18-gauge wire which I looped at each end. I then carefully bent the coil and interior wire into a very open V so that any dangles I placed on it would hang down, and not move back and forth and cause the necklace to slide around on my neck. (Balance is important with asymmetrical necklaces. If the two sides don't weigh the same the necklace will never hang correctly and easily—important if you have a focal point, and unimportant if the entire necklace is the focus).

September 04, 2009

Left: Necklace I made using leftover components. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

After making the button closure necklace the other day, I happened to look over at one of my tables where more items were waiting to be put away and saw a lovely little bit of tubular Ndebele or Herringbone stitch that was languishing away in a beading tray. It was 4 inches long and as I looked at it I thought it would make a wonderful base portion for another button closure necklace.

Then I saw an agate I'd already wrapped with a jade round for a dangle (sterling wire and a decorative round bead headpin). I thought it would be fun to put the two together because of the colors of the stones.

How to hang the pendant from the woven piece was easily solved. I hammered a piece of 20-gauge sterling silver, wrapped it around a paintbrush, putting a second paintbrush near the first to get the wider bend where the pendant would hang. Then I curled each end of the wire into a tight spiral with the tip of my round-nosed pliers.

I threaded the Ndebele scrap through the wire wrapped spiral "tube," twisting the ends of the wire to tighten around the beading and show off the decorative spirals. The idea was to tighten the wire slightly to keep it from moving too much on the Ndebele, without depressing or distorting the beadwork.

August 29, 2009

Left: Scan of a necklace made with waxed cotton, strung beads, a little bit of wire wrapping, and an antique button. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Even though it's Minnesota State Fair time not everyone can attend. (I can't attend today either.)

Well maybe you can have some fun making a little jewelry (which you can wear to the Fair when you can attend). Last week I was putting odds and ends away and found this neat antique button. (I have some friends that like to go shopping for antiques and when I go with them, since I'm not really interested in antiques, I always look for buttons and for old paper items—the latter because I love the way people solve graphics problems.)

I wanted to make something quick. I didn't want to take time to bead an entire necklace. Also I wanted the button to show at the front of the necklace. I found 3 left over flat stone beads. (Do you recognize the stone? If so write and identify it for me as I've lost my notes on it.)